Does anyone here have the Audioengine A2+ speakers?

[Ronin13]

I'm considering these for my new PC and I just have a quick question to any owners, before ordering them...

 

[fuzzymath10]

I have them and I like them a lot. Amazing for the size, and the USB attachment is useful for those of us with crappy onboard audio.

 

[Ronin13]

That's good to hear.

I just bought a set of Yamaha NX 50 speakers, that had pretty impressive bass for their size, but on some songs with deep bass they startet to distort, so they're going back.

Obviously, the A2+ will also be limited by it's size, but I'm wondering how it copes with similar deep bass frequencies?

If possible, could you check your A2's with either the start of Depeche Mode: Welcome To My World (the first song on their last album) or The Knife: Silent Shout at about medium volume, and check if you get any distortion? (What I got from the Yamaha was a slight distortion of the sub bass from the right speaker, most noticeable with my ear close to the driver.)

I'm aware that they won't go as low as a subwoofer setup, but it would be very helpful to hear how well they handle this type of low bass. Many thanks in advance!

 

[fuzzymath10]

I'm away from my home until next week so won't be able to give you an indication until then.

This pair actually replaced another pair from a newer brand called Kanto, which had terrible issues with the tweeters that was super obvious by setting the high pass filter at the crossover frequency in foobar. Have you confirmed the speakers handle certain frequencies poorly by testing a high pass at whatever bottom frequency your speakers can handle, and seeing if the issue goes away?

 

[Ronin13]

I'm in no hurry, so whenever you get the chance will be fine

No, I haven't made any more detailed test than trying out the speakers with various music and a single game (the Mass Effect 2 launcher's music has similar deep bass that also had the right Yamaha speaker distort).

But distortion aside, I wasn't really happy with the Yamaha's sound signature - there seemed to be some DSP going on that raised some levels of the music while downplaying others, making music I know sound off, so they're packed up to be shipped back.

I did however really like their size and design and the convenience of a volume knob on the front. And I liked that the were angled towards the ears, when placed on the desk. As far as I can gather from reading reports from many users of the A2, they're very sensitive to placement, and aren't giving their best results unless you either angle them up if on a desk or otherwise place them in ear height - what do you do with yours?

 

[fuzzymath10]

So, an update.

I gave them a listen, and I think they handle the lows pretty gracefully. My "reference" is my living room setup with the KEF 2005.3 set (not monitors by any stretch).

The bass is a bit mushier, but does not distort to my ears. I did have a problem with vibration at higher volume that I haven't pinned down yet. I'd like to hear the Yamahas to at least gauge how severe their distortion is for comparison's sake.

I've read the same thing about placement, and while I'd like to get the angled mounts, at this point I've either had them above or below my ears. Given the vibration, I might pull the trigger on the stands. Also, the volume knob is at the back of the left speaker so it's a bit annoying but keeps the aesthetics clean on the front.

 

[Ronin13]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to test this.

It seems that the bass of the A2s would be ok for the volume levels I would use them at with my PC, but as much as I was ready to pull the trigger, I can't get over the placement issues (granted this is true for pretty much all book shelf speakers / studio monitors), and I think that the stands for them take too much away from the clean design that in part attracted me to them in the first place.

So now I'm trying to find the best small, active speakers that'll work with a desktop setup with minimal fuss. I've sampled a few and found a definite contender, so if anyone's interested I'll happily share my thoughts...

Thanks again